This invention concerns garments, and in particular a tactical vest for police, for carrying a concealed weapon.
Vests have come in many different forms, including tactical vests for police. Hidden vest panels or pockets have been used for concealing a gun. See, for example, Bennett U.S. Pat. No. 5,692,237.
As shown in the above patent, pistol holsters using Velcro, for concealing in a vest, are known. However, prior tactical vests have not provided for convenience and ready retrieval of a gun or other weapon from a concealed area of the vest, nor have they provided for versatility in the placement of the holster and gun as in the present invention described below.
The following patents have some pertinence to this invention: U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,324,697, 5,894,976, 5,689,829, 4,998,654, 4,262,832, 4,106,121, 2,919,443, 2,476,665 and D414, 014.
In accordance with the present invention, a police tactical vest has a conveniently accessed hidden pocket, to the side of the central zipper line of separation of the vest. Such a pocket may be provided at both left and right. Inside this pocket is a hook and loop fastener arrangement that provides for placing of a holster and handgun in any desired orientation and position for the user, and Chat enables very quick retrieval of the gun from the hidden pocket.
The concealed pocket or pockets are not visible from the outside, being formed between layers of fabric and with a vertical slot opening adjacent to the zipper or other fasteners at the vertical line of vest closure. Within each concealed pocket in a preferred embodiment is a pair of patches of Velcro hook and loop fastener material, preferably tracks or strips of hook VELCRO material, spaced apart and preferably parallel. The tracks may be vertically oriented. These VELCRO hook tracks or strips are on the inner panel of the concealed pocket, i.e., the outside surface of the panel closest to the body. The pair of hook fastener tracks can support a large VELCRO material patch, preferably of double-sided loop material, in a position and orientation as desired by the wearer. Such a position is in accordance with the user""s comfort and convenience in drawing a handgun. The large patch of double-sided loop material supports a nylon gun holster having hook VELCRO , or it can support other weapons or items: telescoping baton, mace, pepper spray, spare magazines, radio, cell phone, handcuffs, etc. The term hook/loop fastener material is intended to mean either hook material or loop material as used in the appended claims.
In a preferred embodiment or the vest of the invention, the described concealed pockets are located at both left and right, with vertical pocket entry just behind the zipper or other closure device. The front of the vest can be closed with a single snap if desired, even though a zipper is present, for quickly accessing the primary weapon, usually the handgun in the concealed pocket. The pocket itself may be closed with patches of Velcro along the edge of the opening slot.
The tactical vest of the invention has a number of other preferred features. One is the inclusion of two outer pockets on the user""s right, which can receive, for example, a two-way radio and/or a rifle magazine.
A pocket with horizontal zipper on the user""s left front can be used for sunglasses, bullets, etc. This is a deliberately shallow pocket for reaching such items conveniently. Below that pocket on the left side is a deeper, bellowed pocket with elastic loops inside. These can be for a spare pistol magazines, film and/or a flashlight. The three elastic loops are formed by a single strip of elastic positioned horizontally across the inside of the pocket. The back of the vest has cargo pockets which can hold extra gear, including a water bottle.
It is therefore among the objects of the invention to provide significant improvements in police tactical vests, providing a number of conveniences and a concealed pocket for quick retrieval of a concealed weapon, the weapon being arranged for maximum comfort and retrieval convenience of the particular user. These and other objects, advantages and features of the invention will be apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment, considered along with the drawings.